Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra to Present Commissioned World Premiere

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra's Eastside Chamber Series continues with the highly anticipated LACO-commissioned world premiere of Guggenheim Fellowship recipient Samuel Adam's Sundail, an exploration of duality celebrating light and dark for string quartet and percussion, featuring Principal Percussion Wade Culbreath, and Dvořák's lively Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major on Saturday, March 26, 2022, 8 pm, at The Huntington's Rothenberg Hall in San Marino. The program opens with Bach's Contrpuncus I from "The Art of the Fugue" (version for string quartet) arranged by Stefano Scodanibbio.

Adams explains that, structurally, his new work, Sundial, is true to its name: "the five instruments project a series of musical shadows that, in constant motion, reveal the passage of time in the shape of an arc." The title also suggests an object that depends upon light and shadow. To emphasize this duality, Adams built the piece from two types of music: "rocking" music that sways and pulses between two harmonies, and contrapuntal "cyclic" music. Before composing the work, Adams says he was immersed Renaissance vocal music, appreciating its construction and crisp melodies.

This experience helped shape the work in ways both overt and subtle. The idea of resonance itself is another important concept in the work. Adams notes he "treated the five voices a little bit like a sustain pedal on a piano; in many passages, the strings elongate the percussion sounds and vice versa, creating a kind of 'hyper-resonance.'" One may observe many other things in this piece such as the interplay between "rocking" and "cyclic" elements, or the bright metallic sounds of the percussion and how they mesh with the warmth of the string quartet. One may even discern dizzying joy emerging from the darkness, something Adams attributes to a personal milestone, the birth of his first child.

Culbreath was appointed Principal Percussionist of LACO in 2009.A much sought after musician in Los Angeles, Culbreath is the principal percussionist with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and principal timpani with the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. As a session musician, he has played on hundreds of soundtrack recordings, including the Academy Award-winning scores for "Aladdin," "La La Land," and "Life of Pi." Culbreath studied at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree and performer's certificate.

Tickets are $58 and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x1. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and for students.

COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS
LACO is committed to the health and safety of its patrons, artists and staff and will require proof of full vaccination for everyone attending in-person LACO events. Social distancing will be implemented and, under current Los Angeles County guidelines, masks will be required indoors at all times. Audience members are encouraged to wear face masks with at least two layers, such as a KN95 or surgical mask. LACO will continue to exceed state and local guidelines, recommendations and requirements for indoor activities.

For the most current information on LACO's COVID safety protocols, visit LACO.org/covid-19. LACO's vaccine requirement for all eligible audience members includes a COVID-19 booster obtained no later than the date of performance. Eligibility for the COVID-19 booster is as follows: for all Moderna recipients and Pfizer recipients ages 12+, boosters are eligible five months after their second vaccine dose. Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients are eligible for a booster dose two months after their initial vaccine.

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO) ranks among the world's top musical ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and, with eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, a champion of contemporary composers. Headquartered in the heart of the country's cultural capital, LACO has been proclaimed "America's finest chamber orchestra" (Public Radio International), "LA's most unintimidating chamber music experience" (Los Angeles magazine), "resplendent" (Los Angeles Times), and "one of the world's great chamber orchestras"(KUSC Classical FM).

Performing throughout greater Los Angeles, the Orchestra has made 32 recordings, including, most recently, a 2019 BIS Records release of works for violin and chamber orchestra that features Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and the world premiere recording of Pierre Jalbert's Violin Concerto (a LACO co-commission). In 2020, due to the global pandemic, LACO pivoted from presenting live performances to producing the groundbreaking CLOSE QUARTERS interdisciplinary digital series melding musical and visual arts, which has garnered more than 1.8 million views across social media platforms since its debut in November 2020.

The "digitally native" programs, created specifically for streaming and applauded as "musically and artistically compelling" (Los Angeles Times) have "redefined how classical music can be presented in the 21st century (Cultural Attaché). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America. www.laco.org.

Photo Credits: Michael Burke

Pictured: Wade Culbreath

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